July 8, 2010 – Reynolds American Inc. will webcast its conference call following the release of second-quarter 2010 financial results on July 22, 2010.The call will begin at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time.During the call, members of the Reynolds American management team will discuss RAI's results for the second quarter and first half of 2010.

The RAI conference call will be available online on a listen-only basis at www.ReynoldsAmerican

Please visit the Investors section at www.ReynoldsAmerican.com to register. A replay of the call will be available on the website for 30days. Investors, analysts and members of the news media can also listen to the live call by phone, by dialing (877) 390-5533 (toll free) or (678) 894-3969 (international).

July 9, 2010 - Understanding the trends in the prevalence of cigarette smoking among youths enables policy makers to target prevention resources more effectively. Every 2 years, CDC analyzes data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to evaluate trends in cigarette use among high school students in the United States.

This report updates a previous report and describes results of CDC’s 2010 analysis of YRBS data from 1991–2009 for three measures: ever smoked cigarettes, currentcigarette use, and current frequent cigarette use. For ever smoked cigarettes, the prevalence did not change from 1991 (70.1%) to 1999 (70.4%), declined to 58.4% in 2003, and then declined more gradually, to 46.3% in 2009. For current cigarette use, the prevalence increased from 27.5% in 1991 to 36.4% in 1997, declined to 21.9% in 2003, and then declined more gradually, to 19.5% in 2009. For current frequent cigarette use, the prevalence increased from 12.7% in 1991 to 16.8% in 1999, declined to 9.7% in 2003, and then declined more gradually, to 7.3% in 2009. For all three measures, rates began to decline in the late 1990s, but the rate of decline slowed during 2003–2009. (Cigarette Use Among High School Students — United States, 1991–2009, MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Vol. 59 / No. 26, 7/9/2010.)

The following is a statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids..

CDC Survey Shows Youth Smoking Continues to Decline Slowly, But More Must Be Done to Accelerate Progress. Survey results show that the nation continues to make gradual progress in reducing youth smoking, but declines have slowed significantly since 2003 and nearly one in five high school students still smoke.

This survey is consistent with others that have found a slowing and even stalling of smoking declines among both youth and adults. These results send a powerful message to elected officials at all levels: We know how to win the fight against tobacco – the nation's number one cause of preventable death – but our ultimate success depends on resisting complacency and more aggressively implementing proven strategies. These include well-funded tobacco prevention and cessation programs, higher tobacco taxes, smoke-free air laws, and effective regulation of tobacco products and marketing.The good news in the CDC's 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey is that the high school smoking rate (the percentage who smoked in the past month) declined to 19.5 percent in 2009. This is the first time it has fallen below 20 percent and the lowest rate since this survey was started in 1991. Altogether, high school smoking has declined by 46 percent since peaking at 36.4 percent in 1997. This is a remarkable public health success story. In addition, the percentage of high school students who have ever tried cigarettes has fallen under 50 percent for the first time (to 46.3 percent in 2009 from a high of 71.3 percent in 1995).

The bad news is that high school smoking declined by just 11 percent between 2003 and 2009 (from 21.9 to 19.5 percent), compared to a 40 percent decline between 1997 and 2003 (from 36.4 to 21.9 percent).

It is important to note that this survey was conducted primarily in January-March 2009, before the federal cigarette tax was increased by 61 cents a pack on April 1, 20009, and before the June 22, 2009, enactment of the new federal law granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority over tobacco products. Tobacco companies have reported large declines in cigarette sales since the cigarette tax increase, and the FDA last month implemented new restrictions on tobacco marketing and sales to children. Future surveys will indicate the impact of these measures on smoking rates.

While today's CDC report focused on cigarette smoking, the same survey also found a troubling increase in smokeless tobacco use in recent years. Between 2003 and 2009, there was a 33 percent increase in smokeless tobacco use among high school students (from 6.7 to 8.9 percent reporting smokeless tobacco use in the past month). Among high school boys, there was a 36 percent increase (from 11 to 15 percent). This increase, which has also been found in other surveys, coincides with a large increase in smokeless tobacco marketing and the introduction of numerous new smokeless tobacco products, several shaped, flavored and packaged like candy. These findings underscore the need to enact measures that discourage all tobacco use, not just cigarette smoking.

Why have smoking declines slowed in recent years? The CDC and other experts have cited several factors, including continued heavy spending on tobacco marketing, deep discounting by the tobacco companies that have kept cigarette prices flat despite tax increases, and cuts to tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

July 9, 2010 - The Hungarian Tobacco Growers Association (MADOSZ) welcomes the outcome of last week’s Brussels event on The Future of Tobacco Growing where a member of the European Parliament called the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) push to ban tobacco ingredients a “grave mistake.”

Members of the European Parliament, agricultural experts and tobacco grower associations held discussions focusing on how banning ingredients would eliminate the varieties of tobacco used to make the majority of cigarettes in Europe, cost thousands of jobs and boost cigarette smuggling without reducing smoking rates.“More than 100,000 jobs cease to exist in the EU every month. We must not let another 300,000 be eliminated as a result of restricting Burley and Oriental blends, which account for 55% of European tobacco growing,” Hungarian MEP Csaba Tabajdi (csaba.tabajdi@europarl.europa.eu) said at the meeting. Tabajdi warned that unemployment would rise primarily among disadvantaged and poorly educated people in Hungary and elsewhere in the EU. Another speaker of the event MEP Béla Glattfelder agreed that the new regulation might be considered as a serious threat to European farmers.

In a statement, Tabajdi said that the WHO plan was based on reducing the attractiveness of cigarettes by banning ingredients, even though there is no scientific method for measuring this. Tabajdi noted that while he supported a ban on flavorings that increase addictiveness and toxicity “banning all of the additives without sound scientific evidence would be tantamount to banning the Burley and Oriental tobaccos used mainly in traditionally blended cigarettes. This would be a grave mistake because there is no proof that the withdrawal of Burley or Oriental would decrease smoking and reduce harmful effects.”

MADOSZ welcomes this voice of reason and shares Tadajdi’s concerns about the likely growth in black market cigarettes that this proposal would stimulate. “If the cigarette that most smokers prefer in a country is banned, smugglers will find a way to supply it,” said Illés Bényei, chairman of MADOSZ.

An increase in the black market for cigarettes means fewer sales for shopkeepers and many other legitimate businesses. “We just represent tobacco growers but shopkeepers and other small businesses will also be damaged by the growth in black market cigarettes and so we call on them to join us and say no to this ridiculous proposal,” Bényei concluded.

July 9, 2010 - Effective July 1, Gwinnett Medical Center (GMC), Lawrenceville/Duluth, GA is reinforcing their no-tobacco commitment with a new policy that prohibits offering employment to any tobacco user.

Current employees will not be impacted by this change, but can take advantage of the hospital’s employee wellness program to stop smoking. For those associates who are tobacco users, GMC offers a smoking cessation program to assist with quitting.

GMC believes—and national studies show—that hospitals and other healthcare organizations that permit tobacco usage send a message to healthcare consumers that tobacco is not a health hazard. The health impact of tobacco use has a devastating effect on individuals and communities. “This is a matter of practicing what you preach. Hospitals and healthcare providers should lead the way in promoting good health. By not hiring people that use tobacco products and helping current employees to quit, we are trying to lead by example” said Steve Nadeau, VP, human resources for GMC.

Breathe Happy: Live Happy. That’s the new slogans around the Gwinnett Medical Center campuses to help communicate and launch the renewed Smoke Free campaign.“GMC is dedicated to supporting the health and well being of our hospital community and the broader community we serve,” said Phil Wolfe, president and CEO of GMC. “For many years, smoking has been prohibited either inside or outside of any GMC facility. We believe we must lead by example in maintaining a healthy and safe environment for everyone.”

The real benefits of quitting far exceed anything financial. One year after quitting, the risk of coronary heart disease is cut in half. Five years after quitting, stroke risk returns to that of a non-smoker. And in 10 years, a former smoker’s risk of lung cancer is about half of that of someone who continues to smoke.

Car and Driver MagazineAugust 2010..July 9, 2010 - IntelliSurvey is conducting a brief study on behalf of RJ Reynolds, a major tobacco manufacturer. If you qualify to participate and complete the entire survey by July, 10, 2010, you will be entered into a drawing to be eligible to receive one of five $100 American Express Gift Cheques - Official Rules.

We realize the value of your time, and thank you in advance for your participation. The survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete. Thank you.

July 9, 2010 - As of July 1, 2010 excise tax rates for beer and tobacco products were raised, reports Ukrinform, the national news agency of Ukraine.

According to a law adopted by parliament on 20 May the ad valorem excise duty rate increases from 20 per cent to 25 per cent for filter cigarettes, while it is retained at 20 per cent for non-filter cigarettes. For cigars, snuff, smoking, chewing tobacco it is reduced from 20 per cent to 0 per cent.

The law also increases a specific excise duty on tobacco products: filter cigarettes from UAH 69 (EUR 6.80, 8.73 USD) per thousand pieces to UAH 90 (11.39 USD) per thousand pieces; for cigars from UAH 69 per thousand pieces to UAH 140 (17.71 USD) per thousand pieces; for industrial tobacco from UAH 28.75 (3.64 USD) per kg to UAH 50 (6.33 USD) per kg; for smoking tobacco from UAH 40.25 (5.093 USD) per kg to UAH 70 (8.86 USD) per kg; for chewing and snuff tobacco from UAH 11.5 (1.46 USD) per kg to UAH 20 (2.53 USD) per kg.

The law was introduced by the cabinet to increase budget revenues by UAH 9 billion (1,138,808,065.17 USD) a year.

July 9, 2010 - The Bulgarian Parliament has adopted at second reading the 2010 Revised State Budget Act providing after a 12-hour debate in which the ruling GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) party lost the backing of one of its major partners. The revised budget was approved with the votes of GERB together with the MPs from the nationalist party Ataka.

The rightist Blue Coalition, which supported the draft bill at first reading in June, this time backed out blaming Finance Minister Simeon Djankov for failing to fend off the demands of the other ministers and thus providing for a staggering increase of state spending.

Mihail Velkov, Executive Director of the Bulgarian Milk Producers’ Association has stated a number of the Bulgarian tobacco farmers, whose employment is problematic as the state is planning to cut their subsidies, could turn to sheep breeding for a living because of the great potential of this sector. (Bulgarian Farmers Hope to Export Sheep Milk to China, Saudi Arabia, Novinite.com, 6/30/2010.

July 8, 2010 - Taxes on cigarettes could be increased further to retaliate against a price cut by manufacturers that comes into effect today.

British American Tobacco (BAT) has announced it is dropping the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes in France from €5.50 (6.98 USD) to €5.30 (6.73 USD) for two of its brands, Rothmans and Lucky Strike. Rolling tobacco manufacturer Drum is also cutting prices today, down from €7 (8.88 USD) to €6.65 (8.44 USD).Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said she was shocked by the move, which the government has no power to stop. She said she was determined that efforts to prevent people smoking would not be beaten by a price cut. She told RTL: "The only means I have is to increase taxes on tobacco." Anti-smoking group the Office Français de Prévention du Tabagisme said the price cut was a "health scandal" and would "attract new smokers, especially young people and women".

July 8, 2010 - Noble Hospital in Westfield, Massachusetts (MA, Mass) is offering a program to help people quit smoking.

The two-part program called "Forgetting Cigarettes" uses hypnosis to eliminate the desire for smoking and allows the participant to forget cigarettes forever.

The two sessions are scheduled for Monday, September 20th and Thursday, September 23rd from 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at Noble Hospital. Pre-registration is required. There is a $40 fee that's payable at the first class. To register call (413) 568-2811 at extension 5520.

July 7, 2010 - The Iranian Tobacco Company announced that it plans to take serious measure against cigarette smuggling in the metropolis of Tehran. Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance with the cooperation of the Tehran Tobacco Office will inspect all stores, shops, and supermarkets to find smuggled cigarettes. In case of finding such cigarettes, they will be confiscated, the company announced. Experts believe that smuggled cigarettes have bad effect on social health of people.

He said considering President Ahmadinejad speech in supporting Iranian industries and preventing the commodity trafficking unfortunately increase of cigarette smuggling lead to irrecoverable loss for country’s economy and investors in private sector of industry. The analyst noted regarding decrease of Iran Tobacco Company production especially in joint tobacco production companies the official import of cigarette dropped to 50 percent, lack of management resulted in substitution of non standard and unsanitary cigarettes.

July 8, 2010 - Altria Group, Inc. (Altria) (NYSE: MO) will host a live audio webcast on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its 2010 second-quarter business results. The business results will be issued by means of a press release at approximately 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the same day. The webcast can be accessed at http://www.altria.com. Read more...

July 8, 2010 - Vapor Corp., formerly Miller Diversified Corporation , a leading marketer and distributor of electronic cigarettes announced sponsorship agreements with World Series of Poker players: Michael "Grinder" Mizrachi, Robert Mizrachi, Noah Boeken, David "Chino" Rheem, Isaac "The General" Galazan, and Paul Wolfe, who are currently among the world's elite poker stars.

The sponsorship deal makes Vapor Corp. the players' official "Electronic Cigarette" Sponsor and means each player will wear the Company's Fifty-One(R) or Krave (R) logo when competing, when permissible. "This is Vapor Corp.'s first foray into sponsorships," said Company President and CEO, Kevin Frija, "and it is fitting as the company was launched soon after one of the Company's founders, a WSOP bracelet winner, discovered the product at a poker tournament. We have come full circle and believe that our products are a natural fit for poker players and casinos everywhere."

In celebration of the World Series of Poker, for a limited time, the Company is offering up to 100,000 of its Krave(R) disposable electronic cigarettes for $9.95, which includes the cost of shipping and handling. Visit Krave500.com to order. Limit one electronic cigarette per order.

Electronic cigarettes, also known as "e-cigarettes," are devices that heat and vaporize small amounts of nicotine, the addictive substance in tobacco. They contain no tobacco, however.

July 7, 2010 - A new study from Cancer Council’s behavioural research centre in Newcastle reveals that nine out of 10 New South Wales (NSW) smokers are snared by the temptation of cigarettes being available within walking distance of their daily routine. (The study was conducted by CHeRP, a behavioural research centre jointly funded by Cancer Council NSW and the University of Newcastle.)

Smokers say these traps prevent them from quitting, with nearly a third signalling that they would flick the addiction or at least cut down on how often they lit-up if cigarettes were less available.

The difficulty of avoiding tobacco traps is exemplified by a study in the Hunter (Hunter Region of New South Wales), where more than 1200 outlets sell cigarettes, the equivalent of one shop for every 77 smokers. By comparison, the same region has just 150 post offices, making it easier to buy cigarettes than a stamp.Regional programs coordinator from Cancer Council’s Coffs Harbour office Vanessa Crossley said the study confirmed the need for licensing to be introduced for any business wanting to sell tobacco – just like alcohol. “Smokers want to quit, they have good intentions to quit, but tobacco traps torment them every day, killing their chances of success,” she said.

“The solution is simple and possible; introduce tobacco licensing to discourage sellers, reduce the accessibility of cigarettes, and help thousands of smokers to quit one of the toughest addictions around.”

Cancer Council NSW recently released Saving life; why wouldn’t you?, a report calling for tobacco licensing to be introduced in NSW, with four other cancer control steps for NSW politicians to support before next year’s state election.

“The NSW Government has set itself a goal of reducing smoking, and spends over $40m per year to drive down smoking rates. These efforts would be much more effective if it was not so easy to buy tobacco,” Vanessa added.

“Tobacco licensing could save lives, and with 91 percent of the community agreeing that it should be introduced, we ask all politicians why wouldn’t you?”

According to a Ministry of Health and Welfare survey of 3,000 adult males and females nationwide in June, the smoking rate for males was 42.6 percent, about a 0.5 percentage point fall from last December. The decrease is the first in two years after it peaked at 43.1 percent last December. Still, it is very high, possibly the highest, among OECD member states, the researchers said, as their average was 28.4 percent in 2007.

The average smoker starts smoking at the age of 21 and becomes a regular puffer within a year. About 61.7 percent said they smoke out of habit, with stress being the second reason. About 59.4 percent of the smokers wanted to quit smoking because of health risks, for the well being of their families, and related reasons. Most expressed wanting to quit within a year.

Most respondents said expanding non-smoking zones was the most effective way to induce people to quit smoking. Raising the price of cigarettes and imposing heavier punishment on smokers at smoking-free zones were other possible incentives.

Those surveyed said the price of a packet of cigarettes would have to soar to an average 8,510 (7.03649 USD). "Smoking is a disease that needs treatment. We will consider raising the cigarette tax as well as other policies to encourage a smoke-free atmosphere," a ministry official said.The health authorities initially planned to lower the smoking rate to below 30 percent by the end of the year, but researchers said it is quite unlikely since the actual number of people who smoke may be higher than surveyed ― more people might be smokers but they could have lied lied out of embarrassment, they said.

July 7, 2010 - The tobacco industry has obtained temporary relief from the implementation of a Department of Health (DoH) order imposing graphic warning on cigarette packs. Jose Antonio Blanco of the Office of the Solicitor General said that the decision issued last July 1 barred the Health department from implementing Administrative Order 13, which required the printing of pictures showing diseases acquired from smoking in addition to the existing health risk information.

The order, issued last May 24, also prohibited the use of descriptors in cigarette products such as "light" and "mild."

Background:April 6, 2010 - The Philippines Department of Health (DoH) has expressed confidence that the government could require tobacco firms to place pictorial warnings on cigarette packs sold to the public. DoH was “crafting an administrative order” covering such warnings against tobacco use. (Philippines - DoH pushes for picture warnings on cigarette packs..)

May 24, 2010 - The Department of Health (DoH) has stepped up the pressure on tobacco companies, ordering them to start printing in 90 days, explicit warnings on cigarette packs that would illustrate the ill effects of smoking. DoH Secretary Esperanza Cabral said tobacco companies should comply with Administrative Order 13 which the health department issued on May 12. (Philippines - Department of Health wants health warnings on cigarette packs within 90 days..)

June 3, 2010 - June 4, 2010 - The Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI) said an order requiring tobacco companies to print graphic health warnings on cigarette packs is contrary to law. Complying with the health department’s administrative order 2010-13 will be a violation of Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act (TRA) of 2003, the group said in a statement. The law prohibits the printing of any other health warning on cigarette packs other than those specified by law, the group said.

Fortune Tobacco Corp., one of the two major local tobacco companies, has challenged the order before the sala of Judge Felix P. Reyes of Marikina Regional Trial Court Branch 272 before its implementation. It filed last June 3 a petition for declaratory relief with the issuance of a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction against the directive.In granting the petition, Mr. Reyes required Fortune Tobacco to post a bond of P5 million (107,596.30 USD). The P5 million is to answer for any damage that the DoH may incur if it is later proven that Fortune Tobacco [will not be hurt] by the administrative order," Mr. Blanco, who served as DoH counsel during the court hearings, said in a phone interview. Mr. Blanco said "we will assail [to attack with arguments, criticism]" the court decision.

For her part, Dr. Maricar B. Limpin, executive director of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Alliance Philippines (FCAP), said the court had given "more leeway to lure more people to smoke." "This is not for the people," she said in a separate interview.

July 7, 2010 - To mark the coming into force today, July 5th of Bill C-32, which prohibits the sale of small flavoured cigarillos in Canada's 23,500 convenience stores, the Canadian Convenience Stores Association (CCSA) has released new irrefutable evidence that illustrates the alarming extent of the irresponsible sale of tobacco and flavoured cigarillos on native reservations in Quebec and Ontario.

This evidence shows smoke shacks on Native reserves operating above the law and in many cases, selling industrial quantities of cigarettes, even to minors, without collecting or paying any taxes.

"For the first time, we are showing Canadians that the irresponsible large-scale selling of contraband tobacco on Native reservations is nothing but a national disgrace caused and tolerated by the federal government," said Michel Gadbois, senior vice-president of the CCSA. "With Bill C-32, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq just makes things worse by giving smugglers and criminals a monopoly on little flavoured cigarillos."

The seven-minute video entitled 'Inside Smoke Shacks' was produced last week using a hidden camera. A private investigator commissioned by the CCSA visited and filmed inside 10 tobacco shacks chosen at random on the Kahnawake and Kanesatake reservations in Quebec. One can easily see tobacco products on the shelves (not hidden), a very broad selection (native or imitation commercial brands, and in bags) at widely varying prices (as little as $11 for a carton of cigarettes, compared with $75 on average at convenience stores), an enormous inventory and, especially, a range of flavoured cigarillos at a third or half their legal price.

In addition, the CCSA has released a second video, 'Irresponsable sale on Six Nations', which shows results of a first sting operation on the Six Nations reservation in Ontario. A 15-year-old girl visited 10 tobacco shacks to try and buy flavoured cigarillos. In eight smoke shacks, she was able to buy tobacco products with no difficulty, without being asked her age or to produce ID, which shows the lack of responsibility on Native reservations and band councils that tolerate similar set-ups on their territory.

July 7, 2010 - Russia slapped "smoking kills" warnings on cigarette packages from Saturday, June 26th in an effort to crack down on an addiction that kills up to 500,000 people a year and is on the rise.

As many as 350,000 to half a million of Russians die each year of smoking-related causes, clouding the country's already gloomy demographic. The United Nations warns that the population may shrink from to 116 million by 2050 from 142 million now.

Adopting standards similar to those in the European Union, the Ministry of Health and Social Development requires the anti-smoking message to cover no less than 30 percent of the front of a package and another warning takes half of the back.

The messages range from warnings of lung cancer through wrinkles to impotence and will also come with information on the amount of nicotine and resins.

"Introduction of the new technical regulations of tobacco production is one of the steps in the path to limit the use and spread of tobacco production in Russia," the ministry said in a statement.

Some 409 billion cigarettes were produced in the country last year (2009), according to data from the Association of Tobacco Producers, or about 2,900 cigarettes per capita.Russia remains one of the top tobacco clients, with the domestic market almost completely taken by three global players: Japan Tobacco Inc., Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco PLC. "The number of tobacco producers in Russia is not increasing, not even by one," the paper Komsomolskaya Pravda cited on Saturday Gennady Onishchenko, the head of Russia's consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor as saying.

Public awareness campaigns also have been increasing, with messages becoming less subtle. Billboards two years ago showing a model wearing a dress made of cigarettes have given way to pictures of a sleeping infant with a cigarette placed on its back and the message: "Smoking in child's presence is a much bigger torture for him."

But cigarettes remain affordable and available, with most priced at around 1 euro ($1.34) for 20, and unfiltered selling for much less. Some coffee chains have become smoke-free this year, but many restaurants are filled with fumes and patrons who object get the least prestigious tables.

July 7, 2010 - The value of smuggled cigarettes seized in the first five months of this year was more than RM43 million (13.4 million USD) 56 per cent higher than the value of the seized contraband for the corresponding period last year, the (House of Representatives is the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia) was told Monday, July 5th. Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim said 1,486 arrests were made in association with cigarettes smuggled into the country between January and May this year (2010), compared with 1,123 and 1,799 during the whole of 2008 and 2009, respectively.

"The value of smuggled cigarettes seized in the first five months of this year was RM43,593,379 while the value of the contraband seized in the whole of 2008 was RM58,167,561.89 and in the whole of 2009, RM70,902,558.52," he said when replying to a question from Mohsin Fadzli Samuri (IND-Bagan Serai).

Lim said the measures to check smuggling of cigarettes included inspections of premises or stores, raids, road blocks, land and sea patrols as well as scanning of merchandise for the contraband. "Besides, we also conduct intelligence activity, campaigns and publicity to raise awareness in the public, and use security ink and stamp duty," he added.Reference: Dewan Rakyat: More Seizures Of Smuggled Cigarettes This Year, BERNAMA.com, 7/5/2010.

July 7, 2010 - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Tuesday, July 6th that he was leaning toward seeking a ban on smoking at city parks and beaches. (See Background below on October 1, 2009 the mayor indicated he was pushing ahead to get this done)Mr. Bloomberg said the ban made sense because it would cut the health risks of secondhand smoke and reduce littering by smokers.

“We’re talking about banning smoking on beaches and in parks, and it’s partially because you can breathe the air,” Mr. Bloomberg said when he was asked about a ban. “It’s in the open air, but the air wafts in your direction. But it is also because people take their cigarette butts and the packages and just throw them away.” “When you ask people in our parks and beaches,” he added, “they say they just don’t want smokers there.”

The city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, said Tuesday that smoking was the leading preventable cause of death among residents, killing 7,500 New Yorkers per year, more than AIDS, drugs, homicide and suicide combined.

He said a smoking ban would be the equivalent of bans on loud radios and glass bottles on beaches, and could save millions of dollars in trash cleanup.Dr. Farley cited a health department study, published online in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research in April 2009, that found that 57 percent of nonsmoking adult New Yorkers had elevated levels of cotinine, a marker for smoking, in their blood, compared with 45 percent nationally. The researchers, who sampled New Yorkers in 2004, a year after the city’s ban on smoking in most indoor working and public spaces took effect, said the density of city living might be to blame. (More Than 2.5 Million Non-Smoking New Yorkers Have Residue from Toxic Second-Hand Smoke in their Blood, Press Release, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 48/2009)

Now we find the new 31-strong Liberal MP grouping is planning to introduce its own legislation to abolish the smoking ban for small cafes and bars. The anti-Islam PVV and Socialist party back the proposal, meaning it can count on the support of 71 out of 150 MPs.'The smoking ban was introduced because Europe wants to protect workers against smoke. But you do not have to protect bar owners if they have no staff,' MP Halbe Zijlstra said.

Ten days ago, the ban on smoking in small bars was reinstated after a court ruling.

July 6, 2010 - Manufacturers and retailers may be adhering to the letter of the law concerning the federal government's amendment to the Tobacco Act, which makes it illegal to sell flavoured "small cigars" -- cigarillos and cigarettes -- they certainly aren't adhering to the spirit of the law.

Ontario Health Promotion Minister Margarett Best warned that some tobacco companies seem to be intent on manoeuvring around our health protection laws. The ban that took effect on July 1, 2010 prohibits the sale and distribution of flavoured cigarillos, with the exception of menthol flavour. The province also is requiring unflavoured cigarillos to be sold in packages of at least 20, the same as cigarettes, in an effort to make the little cigars unaffordable for young people. (Canada - ban on flavored tobacco products comes into effect July 2010..)

The amendment actually became law in the fall but included a transition period for retailers and manufacturers to adjust. The nine-month transition period was too long and allowed manufacturers to find loopholes in the law.Since the regulation applies only to items Health Canada believed were being geared toward youngsters, irresponsible manufacturers started making flavoured, larger cigars and they have replaced the smaller cigarillos on some tobacco shelves in Nanaimo. A spokesman with Health Canada said the agency will be carefully monitoring the marketing and sale of the flavoured cigars to ensure young people are not the target market for them. If not young people, then who? Health Canada already is saying it may have to alter the amended Tobacco Act if it finds flavoured cigars are popular among youngsters.

"It's unfathomable," Rendell said recently of legislative opposition to the new taxes that, along with a planned dime-a-pack increase in cigarette taxes, would have been used to help close a $1.2 billion budget hole.

"Pennsylvania remains the only state in the nation without a tax on smokeless tobacco. It and Florida don't tax cigars. That makes public health a loser under the budget, said Melinda Little, a regional director for Washington D.C.-based Tobacco Free Kids. '"We know that higher taxes on these products prevent usage, especially with kids," Little said. The organization's figures show 12.9 percent of high school boys in Pennsylvania use snuff, 17.7 percent smoke cigars and 18 percent smoke cigarettes.' " (Winners and sore losers in the PA cigar tax defeat)

The distributors, Famous Smoke Shop in Forks Township, Cigars International in Bethlehem and tobacco giant the Altria Group, which has a presence in suburban Philadelphia, used one of Harrisburg's most time-honored levers — the threat of lost jobs — to build their case.

"We did our part to let our local state representatives and senators know that this type of tax would be detrimental to our business," said Michael Vandenstockt, marketing director for Famous Smoke Shop. Famous Smoke Shop, which does both mail-order and retail business, made it clear if the legislators passed the tax the company with its 70 jobs would move to another state. Many lawmakers — Democrats included — were also seemingly pathologically averse to passing tax hikes this budget season didn't hurt either.

Altria, the parent company of Montgomery County-based cigar and pipe tobacco manufacturer John Middleton Co., spent more than $125,000 on lobbying expenses during the first quarter of the year, state records showed. Altria spokesman David Sutton said the tobacco giant was pleased with the Legislature's decision to pass over the taxes this year.

Backers had hoped to raise as much as $104 million a year from the new taxes on cigars and smokeless tobacco products and the boosted cigarette tax. Deborah P. Brown, acting CEO of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic, said she was "extremely disappointed" that lawmakers had passed on the chance to raise $100 million when layoffs for state employees are looming.

July 6, 2010 - A growing body of evidence indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals are considerably more likely to use tobacco than the general population, with some studies estimating smoking rates as much as double the national average. Although it's difficult to verify, it's estimated that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals represent roughly 3 percent of the total population of the United States.

Researchers combed through more than 40 separate analyses to determine that LGBT people are more likely to use tobacco. Specifically, gay men are nearly two and a half times more likely to develop a smoking habit than straight men. Lesbians are twice as likely compared to straight women, and people who are bisexual appear to have the highest risk of all.

To be clear, no one within the LGBT community is more prone to smoking because they're gay. The elevated risks are the result of common factors that are magnified within the LGBT community, namely stress and aggressive marketing techniques by tobacco companies.

The tobacco industry has been a prevalent advertiser in the LGBT community for decades, with a heavy presence in bars, clubs, and newspapers that cater to that population. While tobacco advertisements have nearly disappeared from most mainstream publications, the American Lung Association says that's not the case for LGBT newspapers and magazines. They also argue that direct marketing of tobacco products seems to happen more frequently within LGBT bars and clubs

Enough information exists already to show that LGBT people should be treated as a priority population for tobacco control, similar to those racial and ethnic groups disproportionately affected by smoking. Specific interventions targeted to LGBT people are needed in order to help reduce the impact of tobacco use in this population.